“Well, we figured we’d go with you to the Homecoming game this weekend and head home from there. Is that okay?” she asked, still watching me closely. For what, I wasn’t sure, but the woman was like a human lie detector test, so I had to tread carefully.
“Of course, you guys can stay as long as you want … you know that,” I replied, but I looked over my shoulder at the door and frowned.
“Are you waiting for someone? Ermina?”
“Oh, no, actually, Mina’s … out. Um, I’m not sure when she’ll be home.” I wasn’t going to tell my mom that Mina was at Trap’s getting lucky, which I would obviously never be.
“Then, who’s the dinner for?” she persisted.
I sighed and crossed to the island.
Once I was seated across from her, I grabbed a piece of bread and broke it apart before replying, “A guy.”
Mom leaned forward on her elbows and asked, “Oh, really?”
I chuckled. “Yes, really. It’s pretty new, but I like him a lot.”
“Is he better than that Drake?”
Ever since Drake dumped me, my mom referred to him as that Drake.
“Well, obviously I think so, or I wouldn’t give him the time of day,” I replied.
“Tell me about him,” she said, picking up a piece of my bread and popping it in her mouth. “Is he nice?”
“He is … He’s nice, funny, and a little cocky. He’s the oldest of three brothers, and next year all three of them will be here together. He’s the Sergeant at Arms in his fraternity, and he’s tidy, sweet, and totally smart.”
“Hmmm, cocky, huh?” she asked with a frown, picking up on the one descriptor that could be seen as negative.
“Yeah,” I laughed, “but in the best possible way. He comes from money, so sometimes he’s a little out of touch with reality, at least, my kind of reality, but he’s not a jerk or anything.”
The door opened and my dad came in carrying two duffel bags.
“Look who I found in the hallway,” he said, looking pointedly at me as he walked through the living room.
I hurried over to see Ridge standing in the doorway to my apartment looking adorably confused.
Before I could give him a warning, I heard my mom say from right behind me, “So, you must be the reason Karebear’s not coming home for Thanksgiving.”
Ridge’s gaze swung from her to me, and when I saw he was ready to bolt, I mouthed, run!
Twenty-Three
Ridge
I didn’t run.
Instead, I turned on the charm and sat down to dinner with Karrie and her parents.
Parents loved me, so I wasn’t worried about that. No, the worry was that this was too soon. Yes, I realized I’d be taking Karrie home to meet my mom in a few short weeks, but it wasn’t at all the same.
I didn’t care what my parents thought about me, my life, or who I was dating.
Karrie, on the other hand, loved her family and took their thoughts and opinions into account. Meeting the parents for her would mean something totally different than it did to me. On one hand, I wanted them to like and approve of our relationship. On the other, I didn’t want to care what they thought, because I didn’t even know where this thing between Karrie and I was going.
“Can you pass the bread, Ridge?”
I lifted the plate with the remaining pieces of garlic bread and passed them to Sam, Karrie’s mother.
“Thanks,” she said politely.
I was struck again by how different Karrie looked from her family. Obviously, Judd wasn’t her real father, but while Karrie had blonde curls and blue eyes, Sam’s eyes were green and her hair auburn.
I gave Sam a smile and a nod, before turning to Judd and asking, “So, sir, Karrie told me you played professional baseball.”
“Call me Judd, and yes, I did play a season in the minor leagues. It was an amazing experience. I made friends for life, and my father traveled to see every game I played. It was a dream come true for both of us.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, why’d you only play one season?”
Judd smiled at Sam and Karrie.
“I missed my girls and knew starting our life together as a family was more important to me than the game. I’m happy I took my shot on the team, but I’ve never regretted my decision to leave. I’ve lived a charmed life.”
I was surprised to see Karrie’s eyes were misty as she took her dad’s hand in hers and whispered, “I love you, Dudd.”
They all smiled, and I knew they were sharing an inside joke, something I had no knowledge of, and I felt a weird pang in my chest.
My family didn’t have anything like that.
No secret nicknames, or fun family stories. Our father had never given up anything for us, and my mother never looked at him the way Sam looked at Judd. Seeing the three of them together made me realize how lackluster my childhood really was.
Sure, we had money and never wanted for anything material. But, all the money in the world couldn’t buy the love these three obviously shared.
It made me uncomfortable. Like I was witnessing something private that I could never understand.
“Excuse me,” I managed, my voice rougher than usual.
I pushed back from the table and went to the restroom. After a few minutes, once I’d steeled myself from the emotions I’d been feeling, I washed my hands and went back out into the apartment.
Before returning to the table, however, I made a pitstop at the fridge for a beer.
Realizing I was being selfish and couldn’t show up with a drink for myself and nothing for anyone else, I popped my head around the corner and asked, “Would anyone like a drink? Beer? More wine? Water?”
“I’ll have another glass,” Sam said.
“Beer sounds good,” Judd replied.
“Just water for me,” Karrie added, her gaze on me showing her concern.
I gave her a small smile to assure her I was fine and went back to grab the drinks. Once everyone had their beverage of choice, I took my seat and picked up my fork.
I can do this.
“Karrie says she has a little brother, Carter, I believe?” I prodded.
“Oh my gosh, Carter,” Karrie said, covering her mouth when a disbelieving laugh slipped out. “I didn’t even ask about him. Where is he? What a terrible sister.”
“He’s fine, don’t worry about it. He’s at your grandparents’,” Sam replied.
“He wanted to come with us, but we’re planning to hit the casino on the way back home and maybe stay a couple nights,” Judd explained.
“Yeah, a sort of mini getaway, just the two of us,” Sam agreed, waggling her eyes at her husband.
“Ew, gross,” Karrie cried. “Never do that again.”
Sam just laughed, and I couldn’t stop my lips from quirking up.
Her parents were pretty cool, and, believe me, I’d never thought that about anyone’s parents before. In my experience, children were to be seen and not heard, and the only thing parents were good for was using you either as a shield or a punching bag.
Physically and verbally.
I watched and listened while they teased each other and joked around, and wondered what life must have been like in Karrie’s house growing up.
I mean, I got along well with my brothers now, and I hoped those bonds would continue to grow, but the kind of vibe these three had going on filled me with a longing I didn’t understand.
Parents dropping everything to drive hundreds of miles to make sure I was okay? It was unfathomable.
Twenty-Four
Karrie
Due to my parents’ unexpected arrival, not only had Ridge and I not watched Netflix (had lots of sex) the night he came to dinner, but I hadn’t seen him since.
Don’t get me wrong, spending time with my parents was great, especially since I wouldn’t see them again until Christmas, but I went to bed every night wishing I knew where things stood with Ridge.
He’d been obviously uncomfortable at dinner, and I wasn�
�t sure if it was because he’d been kind of ambushed, or because meeting them wasn’t part of our pact and he wasn’t interested in making our relationship that real.
“Do you think he didn’t like us?” my mom had asked.
I’d shook my head and told her, “He hasn’t talked much about it, but I don’t think he had a very good childhood, and doesn’t get along with his parents. He probably didn’t know how to handle our freaky good relationship.”
“Aww, I hate that for him,” she’d said with a frown.
My mom was a total bleeding heart. As a kid, ours was always the house all the kids hung out at. My parents were the cool parents, the fun ones who always had the best snacks, horror movie nights, and played hide and seek in the dark.
Needless to say, Ridge hadn’t spent any more time with them, and we’d decided that he’d go to the game with his brothers, and I’d go with my parents.
I understood, but I was disappointed with how things turned out and found myself really looking forward to the stupid Homecoming party. I wasn’t all fired up to hear Crush run his mouth again, but I was excited to see the girls’ makeovers, and, more than anything, to see Ridge.
How had he become so important to me in such a short amount of time?
“Okay, baby, you be good and have fun with Ridge over Thanksgiving. Let me know if I need to come up there and teach his mother a lesson,” my mom said as she squeezed me tightly.
“I will,” I replied with a laugh.
“Love you, Karebear,” Judd said when I turned to him.
“I love you, too, Dad. Love you, Mom. You guys have fun and don’t do anything illegal at the casino.”
“Love you, baby girl. We’ll be good,” my mom promised.
I waved until I could no longer see their car, then hurried inside to get ready for the big party.
Since this was supposed to be the big reveal, I’d decided to take some extra time and effort into my appearance tonight. Sure, technically Ridge and I weren’t part of the competition, but I still wanted to look transformed from that first night, and make myself look good for what I was hoping would be a long and satisfying night for both of us.
I picked out the denim skirt and white cropped top I’d picked up on our shopping spree and paired it with gladiator sandals.
But, before putting it on, I washed up, shaved everywhere, and took the time to give myself a Brazilian blowout and straighten my hair. It took time and patience, which was why I usually chose to let my curls go au natural, but I wanted to do it.
The preparation almost made the anticipation even greater. Like, I knew I was prepping myself to hopefully be seen by Ridge later, and him having no idea what was coming made me kind of hot.
On the other hand, there was always the chance that I’d be rejected. That he’d still put the brakes on anything other than kissing.
Regardless, I was going to feel my absolute best, and hopefully make his decision, and him, really hard.
Wink, wink.
I watched a makeup tutorial and not only did the perfect winged eyeliner, but filled in my eyebrows as well. By the time I was finished, I barely recognized myself in the mirror, and I was ready to make Ridge my bitch.
“Ho-ly shit!” Mina called when I walked out.
When she put her fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly, I let out a happy laugh.
She spun her finger to tell me to turn around and exclaimed, “Caliente!”
I did a little shimmy for her benefit.
“Are you coming tonight?” I asked her.
“I sure hope so,” Mina replied, widening her eyes comically.
“God, me too,” I agreed with a giggle.
“Sing it sister,” she said, giving me a high five, before adding, “But, yes, Trap and I will be going to the party at Delta later … after the makeover nonsense.”
“Cool, well, text me when you’re on your way.”
“Okay,” she said, but when I started for the door, she called, “Wait, how are you getting there?”
“My bike.”
Mina came toward me, shaking her head furiously.
“Oh, hell no. There’s no way you’re showing up at Delta for the biggest party of the year riding a damn bicycle. Plus, you’d flash your coochie to half the population of the college on the ride over.”
“Ridge is already there and has to get ready for tonight, so I told him I’d meet him there. It’s no big deal,” I assured her, although I hadn’t thought about the fact that the skirt I was wearing was pretty mini and may appear indecent on my bike.
“I’ll give you a ride,” Mina told me.
Not asked … told.
“But, you’re not ready and I already took too long getting ready. I’m going to miss the big reveals.”
“I’ll just drop you off and come back to get ready. Don’t worry, Princess Karrie, no one will see your frumpy roommate. I won’t embarrass you.”
I put my hands on her shoulders and looked dead in her face.
“You could never in a million years embarrass me and no one in the world would ever call you frumpy … at least, not to my face. Not if they want to live.”
“Easy, killer, you don’t have to defend my honor, cause I don’t give a flying fuck what anyone thinks of me. Now, let’s get your sexy ass over to Delta so Ridge can lose his shit.”
“Aww, Ridge calls me ‘killer,’” I said, more eager than ever to get to him.
“Careful,” Mina warned. “You’re in danger of crossing into gag me territory.”
“Sorry,” I said, playing back what I’d just said in my head and realizing she was right. I needed to tone it down. The last thing I wanted was to revert back to Drake’s Karrie, who made everything about her man and started to lose herself.
I was never going to be that person again, and, honestly, I didn’t think Ridge would want that either.
“No worries. Now, let’s get going, because this look was meant to be seen.”
Twenty-Five
Ridge
It was early, but the party was already lit.
We’d won the Homecoming game, so everyone had basically started partying at halftime and were still going strong.
This usually meant the party would either fizzle out early, or people’d start getting their second wind and really lose their shit by midnight. The pledges were gonna have a helluva mess on their hands to clean up tomorrow.
Not my problem.
Once I was sure my things and my room were locked up tight, I went downstairs to join the festivities.
“Yo, Ridge,” Antoine, our president, called out when I hit the bottom.
I moved to join him, Crush, Papi, and Javi in the living room.
“‘Sup?” I said in greeting as I took a seat and accepted the beer a pledge offered.
“That was a great game today,” Javi said from his perch on the arm of the couch.
“Yeah, and it’s gonna be an even better night,” Crush said, shamelessly turning the conversation to himself, as usual. “You won’t believe some of these makeovers. I mean, these chicks were low fours at best, and now they’re solid eights, maybe even a nine or two.”
I ignored him, because, honestly, if I let the shit he said get to me, I’d have beat his ass into the ground years ago.
“How’re things going with your girl, man, you ready to take her home?” Papi asked me.
He was the only one of the guys who knew the true nature of my relationship with Karrie, since, after all, the whole thing had been his idea.
I didn’t think he asked because he was worried his advice wasn’t sound, because Papi’s always right, but he was actually invested. He believed in the counsel he gave, and liked playing that role in the frat, and truly wanted everything to work out.
“Everything’s right on track,” I assured him.
“Wait, you’re taking that chick home with you? Like, to your actual house … to meet your family?” Crush asked, obviously flabbergasted.
I guess
I couldn’t fault him, since it was out of character. Still, that didn’t mean I didn’t glare at him and ask, “What’s it to you?”
He shrugged.
“Nothing really. Although, it was my challenge that brought you two together, so, I guess you should be thanking me for playing Cupid.”
“For fuck’s sake, not everything’s about you,” I retorted.
“It is in my world. Just like in your world, everything’s about you,” he shot back.
“Are you drunk?” I asked him, because what the hell was he talking about.
“Not yet,” Crush said, standing up and stretching his arms over his head. “But, I’m about to be. Imma go make sure the mic’s all set up. Catch you guys in a bit.”
I looked back at the guys and my expression must have shown my frustrations, because Papi laughed and said, “Crush is Crush, man, he’s not gonna change anytime soon.”
“Dude’s a tool,” I replied.
“That may be, but he’s also a brother,” Antoine interjected. “So keep the peace and let the shit he says roll off your back.”
“I always do,” I began, but before I could finish my thought I heard Wes, who was our greeter for the night, call, “Hey, Karrie, you look beautiful.”
I stood up without a word to my brothers, and crossed the room like a man in a trance. When I rounded the corner, the sight of Karrie almost brought me to my knees.
“You look stunning,” I murmured, eager to get her in my arms.
I hugged her briefly, but since she obviously spent time on her makeup, I settled for a kiss on the cheek.
For now.
One look at her and I knew tonight there was no way I’d be able to stop at making out, and, if the signals she’d been giving were any indication, she’d be right there with me.
God, I hoped so.
“Thank you, you look pretty hot yourself,” Karrie said with a coy smile, which let me know she could see the effect she had on me, and she liked it.
“What, this old thing?” I joked, picking imaginary lint off of my blue Michael Kors shirt.
Frat House Confessions: Ridge Page 9